Mental Disorders

Mental disorders (or mental illnesses) are conditions that affect your thinking, feeling, mood, and behavior. They may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic). They can affect your ability to relate to others and function each day.

Mental disorders are characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition (the understanding through thought, experience, and senses), emotional regulation (self-control over one's emotions), and behavior.

Mental disorders can be caused by:

Genes from your family

Life experiences (especially from stress and abuse, specifically in childhood)

Traumatic brain injury

If your mother was exposed to viruses or toxic chemicals while pregnant

Use of alcohol and drugs

Having a serious medical condition

Examples of Mental Disorders and What You Need to Know

Anxiety

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Schizophrenia

Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD)

Psychosis